Sneak Peek: Johanne & Palle Bruun Rasmussen

Johanne and Palle Bruun Rasmussen live just outside Aarhus, Denmark’s second largest city, and next to the forest and the ocean, a bike-friendly distance to both the city and their offices. Johanne is one of five partners for the digital creative agency Hello Monday, which has an impressive lineup of clients that includes Google and MoMA and has offices in Copenhagen and New York. Palle was educated as an industrial designer but ended up in the fashion business years ago and is now partner and creative director for the men’s fashion brand RVLT/revolution. The couple has been in the house for a year and a half. They bought it from an architect, so the base and the material choices were good, and the walls were white, just how Danes like it. Johanne and Palle have a lasting love for some of the Danish furniture classics (just read the captions below) but otherwise lean toward whatever they think is beautiful, cozy or practical. Everything in their home has a history and a reason to be there. Even the style of their boys’ rooms are what Johanne dreamed of when she was a kid, with lots of colors, cool special beds and plenty of floor space to play. Thanks, Johanne and Palle! — Anne

Image above: The big bookshelf is built in and was there when we moved in, a perfect example of practical and pretty. Last year we didn’t go on summer holiday; instead we bought this Flagline chair by Hans J. Wegner, designed in 1950 and unbelievably good for a nap. The floor lamp is by Arne Jacobsen and was a gift from Palle’s parents.

Image above: The big bear is by Sarah Maycock, a 23-year-old artist from London. I just came across her and instantly fell in love with her work. I bought the AJ 3117 office chair (by Arne Jacobsen) in Berlin on a study trip when I was 19. I used all my money for the trip on that chair, and my fellow students probably thought I was crazy. Today an original model like this is pretty rare.

See more inside Johanne and Palle’s home after the jump . . .

Image above: When the boys get older and less messy, we will buy a new couch or reupholster this one, but for now, it’s fine. It can stand in as a pirate ship, a trampoline or a restaurant and still not look too crunchy. The lamp and the carpet were found at flea markets, and the table is Charles and Ray Eames. The prints above the couch are called “fat heroes.” In the corner there is a Philippe Starck AK 47 lamp.

Image above: On this wall there is a Helmut Newton; we found the negative at a flea market in New York. It was so exciting when we got it printed. The piece beside it is a sketch of an installation by the artist group Ultra Groen. The big “P” is by the Danish Playtype. There are also a lot of lithographs by artist Søren Behncke. I’m always moving our prints and pictures around. I like how it changes the room, as well as the works of art.

Image above: These chairs are PK 22 by Danish designer Poul Kjærholm, designed in 1956. They are quite uncomfortable to sit in (for longer periods of time), but they are so beautiful that we bear with them. The ones we have are from 1972, but they still look like they were bought yesterday.

Image above: We built Sigge’s bed last summer, with help from a carpenter friend. The legs are from a tree from the garden, and you get the feeling of being in a forest hut when you’re in the bed. Sigge almost never complains about going to bed. I like to think it has to do with this bed.

Image above: When we first found out we were having a baby, we went on eBay and bought this orange Luigi Colani 1960s Space Age child’s chair. That’s how little we knew about kids. Hello Monday just did a website for the MoMA exhibition Century of the Child, and this chair made it to MoMA. The drawers are from IKEA; we just painted each one in different colors. Palle’s dad made the table and stool.

Image above: The Kiss piece was the first art piece I ever bought. The kids have Tripp Trapp chairs that you adjust with the size of the child, a genius piece of design, in my opinion.

Image above: The kitchen is tiny, but the materials are good, and it works perfectly. We would hate to change something that works, but maybe one day if we come up with a good reason to change it, we will.

Image above: The hatch to the dining area is so ’50s style, but it’s quite useful and very convenient when you want to play ice cream shop. The lithographs are by Søren Behncke.

Image above: The neon hot dog I made for Palle when he turned 40. He is hard to give gifts to.

What a beautiful inspiration. I am moving homes again, would love to minimalise when we move and there are some creative combinations are art, furniture and simplicity… Also I would love to know the name of the drawing app.

I really like the firewood setup here. It looks so cozy and not out of place at all with the wood in the bookshelves! If I ever get a fireplace (which I plan to because they are so romantic looking) I’ll have to incorporate something like this.

@Marie I did some googling and the fireplace is from Rais.dk
@Lisa: The sofa is from Bolia.com and are called Orlando
@Ruthy For the dining table we just bought a cheap wooden plate at the “timber trade” stained the black and a set of “Loop Stands” underneath from the Danish brand Hay.dk (Think they are sold in US as well)

@Caroline: the pen is Pogo Connect
@Coleen Thomson: The posters are actually just old comic covers scand in and printed on photopaper
@Katy: it was no problem having it framed, it is not real glass though, since that breaks easily in bigger sizes

Design*Sponge reserves the right to restrict comments that do not contribute constructively to the conversation at hand, contain profanity, personal attacks or seek to promote a personal or unrelated business.